The contemporary Hollywood lowbrow comedy film greatly emphasises the human body. Essentially, these films are designed to make the audience laugh at the verbal jokes and cringe as features of the body are used in humorous and disgusting ways. Common traits of lowbrow comedy include the emphasis on bodily waste, sexual themes, and the embarrassment and shame the characters go through. Even though these films focus on the pleasures of the body, some of the jokes require our thinking and understanding of popular culture and what is being parodied. This essay will argue that although contemporary Hollywood lowbrow comedy primarily offers pleasures for the body, they also offer pleasures for the mind. This cognitive function can be seen through the use of intertextuality and parody. I will reinforce my argument by analysing three contemporary Hollywood lowbrow comedy films: Dumb and Dumber (1994), Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002), and Scary Movie 4 (2006). All three films clearly make use of the human body to make us respond in a physical manner, but also use intertextual references to reward knowledgeable viewers. Lowbrow comedy can be compared to “gross-out” comedy. Paul refers to this as “Animal Comedy” which uses slapstick comedy and grotesque scenes (86). Paul explains these types of films as follows: “At their best, these films offer a real sense of exhilaration, not without its disturbing quality, in testing how far they can go, how much they can show without making us turn away, how far they can push the boundaries to provoke a cry of “Oh, gross!” as a sign of approval, an expression of disgust that is pleasurable to call out” (20). What Paul is saying here is that these films are exciting because they address subject matters that are somewhat reserved in everyday society. In other words, by exploiting sensitive issues, these films give people a chance to enjoy themselves by letting go of their senses. Bonila argues that lowbrow comedy films have a sociological imperative because they portray “the breaking of norms” (20). Bonila goes on to mention that lowbrow comedy films contort causality; are fractured, disjointed, alogical, and typically have an “anti-narrative” (21). In other words, the stories in lowbrow comedy films are not coherently structured and are sometimes unrealistic. Austin Powers in Austin Powers In Goldmember travels back and forth through time (Bonila 21). Along with Scary Movie 4, both films are formally episodic and contain many scenes that are unrelated to the narrative. By not using complex storylines, it means that viewers can enjoy the physical pleasures of watching these films as opposed to puzzling over the formal elements. 1 One reoccurring theme among lowbrow comedy is the emphasis on the lower body. According to King, slapstick and gag based comedy films have a tendency to “assault” the lower regions of the body (26). Mini-Me and Austin Powers in Austin Powers in Goldmember unknowingly act out a pregnancy scene in the film. While in Dr. Evil’s submarine Austin and Mini-Me – under the disguise as one of Dr. Evil’s henchmen with Austin on Mini-Me’s shoulders – are asked by one of Dr. Evil’s henchmen to take their clothes off for a physical examination. We are then presented with point- of-view shots as one of the henchmen sees a shadow performance where it looks like Austin is giving birth to Mini-Me. The expression on his face is one of disgust and confusion. Although we know that Austin is not actually giving birth, we can be amused by this because we know more than the henchman. Also, we can take pleasure in seeing a situation that is slightly off limits in society being performed in a fictitious way. Bonila points out that lowbrow comedy emphasises the human body and its various functions (19- 20). Bonila also believes that sexual themes are taboo subjects and when mentioned can cause viewers to “release nervous energy as laughter” (19). Scary Movie 4 makes frequent references to sexual themes. In one scene, Cindy walks into a room to find Brenda on her knees with her back facing Cindy, in front of her new boyfriend, Jeremiah. A churning sound is heard and Brenda’s hand can be seen moving up and down while Jeremiah says: “Oh Brenda! Yes!” However all is not what it seems, as the next shot reveals that Brenda is actually mixing butter. Jeremiah, proud of what Brenda has done, asks her: “Are you sure you’ve not churned before?” Sexual themes and reproductive organs are at the centre of Austin Powers in Goldmember. Johan van der Smut (Goldmember), explains that he lost his genitalia is an “unfortunate smelting accident” and his “private parts” are now made of gold. There are also constant penis jokes in the film. In one scene, Nigel Powers convinces Mini-Me to show him his private parts. Upon seeing them, Nigel tells Mini- Me: “You’re a tripod ... it’s like a baby’s arm holding an apple.” Bonila points out that the “preoccupation with sex is further evident in the names of characters” (19). When Austin travels back to the year 1975, he meets Japanese twin sisters: Fook Mi and Fook Yu, then pulls out a “things to do before I die” list and crosses off: “have threesome with Japanese twins.” Both Scary Movie 4 and Austin Powers in Goldmember reinforce that sexual references are a common theme in lowbrow comedy films. These films can give us a chance to enjoy a subject matter that is somewhat reserved to being discussed in everyday society. These films allow us to free ourselves from this reservation and, as a result, express our amusement at what is on screen. 2 The role of the human body is further highlighted in lowbrow comedy through the usage of bodily waste. Paul argues that bodily functions can “remind us of our physical and animal state” (297). The presence of bodily waste in my chosen films is purposely exaggerated to provide us with constant humour. In Austin Powers in Goldmember, Austin is trying to sneak around the Roboto building, but accidentally trips over a plug that controls water coming out of a statue’s body. Before a guard can see this disruption, Austin quickly hides behind the fountain statue and urinates into the pool of water to keep the status quo. Exaggeration of bodily waste is also made evident in Dumb and Dumber. While on their way to Aspen, Lloyd tells Harry he needs “to go.” While driving, Harry tells Lloyd to “piss” in one of the empty beer bottles. Later on, the two are pulled over by a policeman who questions if they have been “boozing.” We then see a shot of five beer bottles under Lloyd’s seat. We are expected to respond with laughter to this situation because it is not possible for someone to fill up five bottles of urine in one “go.” Another way that lowbrow comedy films offer corporeal pleasures through the use bodily waste is by inflicting physical pain and embarrassment on their characters. In the scene described above, the policeman asks for one of the beer bottles after Harry and Lloyd tell him they have not been drinking. He then takes a sip, twitches his mouth and starts coughing. Essentially, he is the object of embarrassment. King notes that an inability to control anal excretions is a key source of gross- out comedy and then mentions the “laxative-induced toilet explosion” in Dumb and Dumber (65). This is referring to when Lloyd puts laxative in Harry’s drink before he goes to meet Mary at night. Upon his arrival at Mary’s house, Harry’s bowel can be heard grumbling. He then rushes into the toilet, has a bowel motion with loud fart noises. Just when Harry feels relieved, Mary knocks on the door only to tell him: “I hope you’re not using the toilet, it’s broken.” At this moment, we imagine what it must be like to be in this awful situation and ask ourselves: How would we feel if this happened to us? But still, we can laugh at Harry, and also the policeman earlier on in the film, because they are the objects of humiliation. Olsen distinguishes between ridiculous and ludicrous situations in comic moments: Where the agent is at fault the actions is ridiculous, but where the agent is not to blame (because of ignorance or chance) the action is ludicrous (15-16). There is one scene in Scary Movie 4 that involves the ludicrous usage of bodily waste. This scene also uses a convention of gross-out comedy identified by King: fluid associated with the lower region of the body is brought up to the top of the body (66). When Cindy is giving Mrs. Norris (a paralysed old lady) a wash, she first dips the sponge into the soap bucket. Then, without looking down, accidentally dips the sponge into 3 Mrs. Norris’ urine bucket and washes her with her own urine. Mrs. Norris spits and mumbles as Cindy uses the sponge to drizzle the urine over her head and pat her face. Mrs Norris is essentially helpless and we can imagine what it must be like to be washed in your own urine. Another ludicrous scene involves Holly (a blind lady) thinking she has walked into her bathroom, but has actually walked into a courtroom full of people. She takes off her dress, lifts up a seat, and has a loud bowel motion. Her father, Henry, clears his throat and Holly, now realisung she is not in her house, accepts her mistake and leaves.